Cumulus Spores

Masters of reimagined improvised music, Ana Kravanja and Samo Kutin might be better known for their excellent work as Širom with third member Iztok Koren. Yet they have in fact collaborated for far longer as a duo. This, then, is a return, foregrounding Kravanja's violin and Kutin's hurdy-gurdy and drawing on a deep collective understanding.

From the very first breath of Cumulus Spores a conversation appears. As Širom the individual players are often obscured by their myriad instruments. But here the listener is instantly and acutely aware of an emerging dialogue, made more intense by their skill with both gesture and silence. As a soundscape, the album is richly imbued (no surprise to Širom fans). The duo's close attention to timbre and texture opens the gates to ethereal whispers, murky guttural utterances and sweetly sad laments. The dark tone of this collection finds some counter-balance in space, at which the duo excel (just listen to the track ‘Pigment’ and marvel at the revelation of Kutin's voice at the two-thirds mark). But overall the vision is often as unrelenting as it is inventive. Thus, should you wish to join Kravanja and Kutin on their sublime subterranean odyssey, pack accordingly.